The Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) wants data on water quality trends in the Murray River.

The MDBA has commissioned La Trobe University to analyse water quality data from 28 monitoring sites along the River Murray and lower Darling. 

This data has been collected by Basin states since 1978 and is routinely assessed to detect sudden changes in water quality that could indicate a source of pollution or quickly emerging problems.

This new study will focus on analysing the data to detect longer term trends that impact water quality, which was last analysed in detail in 2013.

MDBA's Senior Director of Environmental Management Dr Janet Pritchard says that being able to scientifically analyse such an extensive and continuous dataset will help shed light on what drives water quality issues and highlight emerging risks and watchpoints.

“In recent months we've been hearing feedback from a range of River Murray stakeholders who are concerned about the apparent increases and severity of a range of water quality issues, including algal blooms,” Ms Pritchard said.

“This study will allow us to take a close look into water quality parameters like temperature, salinity, metals and nutrients and look at how they are changing over time.

“These parameters are important as they help us maintain appropriate water quality and salinity for a wide range of environmental, social, cultural and economic activities.

“Using physical and chemical data will also help us investigate changes in water quality risks, such as the link between any nutrient and temperature trends and the potential for blue–green algal blooms.”

The MDBA says the findings of the study will be provided to Basin states to assist them with their shared responsibility for managing water quality for all River Murray communities. 

More details are accessible here.